


Double-barrel Shotgun

by orphan_account



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Hamilton AU, Lams - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant, Zombie AU, Zombies, heehoo imma break your heart, mlm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27218275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Everyone hears about disease. It's affected us all in one way or another, be it through one's self or a distant relative, we all know someone plagued with an illness. But in the case of New York City, nearly everyone was sick. Some called it a curse, some called it punishment. But a group of non-infected that had banded together called it a small scale armageddon."Alex died. He was infected, and couldn't be saved. John knew that.But when an undead monster shows up with a hoard with those same brown eyes, he can't help but wonder if what was buried stayed dead.
Relationships: Adrienne de Lafayette/Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens
Kudos: 6





	Double-barrel Shotgun

**Author's Note:**

> Hamilton Musical! Zombie AU!  
> This is a revamp of a short I published back in eighth grade so if you recognize it...you're a real one like can I have YOUR autograph?  
> This is based off of "The Zombie Song" by Stephanie Mabey, and particularly this animatic  
> ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6e8DLPOmyw )
> 
> This story is specifically about the characters from the Hamilton Musical and has no other connection to historical figures.

Some would say the most tragic love story is Romeo and Juliet, including I. Very few endings can compete with the sorry fate of the two star-crossed lovers of feuding families. This tale, however, does hold a special place in my heart. And the heart was the only thing Alexander wanted.

At some point in our lives, everyone must come to terms with the idea of disease. It's affected us all in one way or another, be it through one's self or a distant relative, we all know someone plagued with an illness. In the case of New York City, nearly everyone was sick. Some called it a curse, some called it punishment. This disease made the state littered with what everyone thought could only be fictional; zombies. Transmitted through bites, scratches, and in some cases intercourse; the disease was as deadly as it was not. It would kill within hours, and yet, many who perished in its clutch didn't stay dead for long.

This group of non-infected stuck together and protected each other: John Laurens, Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, Angelica Schuyler and Maria Reynolds. They had all lost many to the disease. Both of Angelica's sisters were killed when Peggy was scratched, as she passed it to Eliza. George Washington, their previous leader, had been cornered while guarding the door on the evening Maria had given birth. (His sacrifice, however, seemed to be for naught as no child could last long in such trying times.) Adrienne de Lafayette, Lafayette's wife, and Alexander Hamilton, John's boyfriend, had both perished in what was a completely avoidable accident. The group chose not to speak of it. This group became more than just stragglers who had escaped-- they became each other's family. This is the story of the tragedy that would haunt them long past the grave.

~♥~

No one could have guessed that today would be the day that would set them on the path to disaster. The sun was shining, all was quiet. John, Maria, Lafayette and Angelica were all simply relaxing, not doing anything in particular. They were exhausted, as they had gotten no sleep due to an incident in the middle of the previous night when a hoard of zombies had nearly made it into the camp. No one expected Hercules would run in, breathless, yelling that they needed to grab their weapons and get outside. But he did. And they did as he said because they all knew what that meant.

A hoard was close.

John grabbed his bat, an odd weapon of choice but one that had helped him get through this whole apocalypse. He heard his friends by his sides, shouting directions and commands, all trying to keep the other safe. All for one, and one for all.

John still felt nauseous every time he saw the bloodied, moaning messes of humans; ripped to shreds and shrieking. It was a small hoard, nothing that couldn't be tackled swiftly. What could go wrong? That was what John thought until he saw one unmoving figure. A mess, just like the rest of them. It was missing one eye entirely and had a terrible gash in its neck. It stood, staring at him. John was ready to attack it, it was easy prey, as Herc liked to call it. Until he saw its eyes. Well...eye. A deep brown, burning with an unshakeable passion and ambition. Just like Alex's eyes once were. The zombie smiled at him. Lafayette noticed John's hesitation.

"It's just rigor mortis, John, we've been over this! The zombies don't feel anything. Just go!" he yelled over his shoulder, followed by the sound of a gunshot. Laf always had a hunting rifle as his weapon of choice.

John couldn't shake the feeling that this zombie wouldn't hurt him. He cautiously lowered his bat as he slowly stepped closer. The more he looked at it, the more it looked like Alexander. Its hair, the same dark chocolate brown he knew, its build was the same, though it looked more scrawny. The clothing, while they were ripped, tarnished and soaked in blood, looked just like the ones they had buried his lover in. He got closer and closer until he heard something that changed everything.

"John?" it asked in barely a whisper. Now there was no denying it. John would recognize Alex's voice anywhere.

"Alex!" John nearly ran to him and kissed him all over until reality knocked some sense into him. 

Alex had died.

What lay before him was merely a shell of him, a siren trying to take him in only to make him his next meal. He took a step back. "How are you here? We buried you!" 

Alex chuckled sweetly. "My dear Laurens, since when have the bitten been known to stay buried?" He gestured to his neck, where he had been bitten by none other than Adrienne de Lafayette. John's grip tightened on his bat, and Alex noticed. "I won't hurt you," he cooed. He took a step closer.

"No, Alex, you're sick," John exclaimed. Whether he was reassuring himself or talking to Alex, even he didn't know. "The sick don't control themselves, the sickness controls them." Alex was nearly nose to nose with John. "Not when there's a love this deep," he purred. "If I was like the others, you'd be writhing on the ground right about now." John knew he was right.

"Why aren't you like the others?" he asked, feeling tears pricking at his eyes. Laf had always said zombies don't feel pain, but everything in what remained of Alexander's face showed he was hurting. It was enough to break John's heart in two.

"I wanted to come to see you." Alex had a tear in his cheek from his mouth, he bit the inside of his mouth to keep his face somewhat presentable and not falling apart. "Please don't leave me here, John. I swear I'll behave. I need you," he said. John could tell from the way he said it that ignoring his zombie instincts was not an easy task, but one he was willing to do, for him. Alex coughed into his hand and reeled back at the sight of blood. He still wasn't used to it.

"Oh my God, Alex, is that normal?" John asked, a look of concern washing over his freckled face."Apparently," Alex mumbled, wiping his hand onto his shirt. It was bloodsoaked anyway, he'd stopped caring.

"You know what? You should come back to camp with me. Angie's an amazing doctor, maybe she could check you out? She saved Herc when she was bitten." Alex's eyes widened."You think she can heal me?" he asked, hope swelling in his chest. John began to walk, gesturing for Alex to follow.

"I'm not gonna lie and say I know because I don't. But I'm sure she can try," he said hopefully. "In any case, you could probably get cleaned up. No offence, but you are filthy."

~♥~

When John walked back into camp, and a sigh of relief swept over his friends.

"My God, John. We thought we'd lost you!" Herc said.

"Well, now that we know you're okay," Lafayette said chuckling, walking to him. He took hold of the shorter man's collar, clutching the fabric as he yelled in his face. "Where the hell were you!?" he snapped. John wasn't taken aback. Laf had been like this ever since Adrienne's death.

His way of coping with grief had been sobbing and sobbing, until recent days. It seemed almost as if he had no emotions left to feel, and all that remained were these spurts of anger. And oh, were they common. John used to find them terrifying, but he felt he'd been desensitized to them at this point.

"I found somebody," John said.

Maria looked up. "Who?" she chimed. She looked excited.

Laf folded his arms. "My question exactly."

Alexander walked in, dishevelled and limping. Maria screamed. Alex froze, he didn't know what to do.

"Guys, calm down. You're gonna scare him." Laf reached for his gun but John kicked it away. The furious man grabbed him by the shoulders, his knuckles going white.

"How could you take one to camp, John?!" he spat, shaking the smaller man. Herc pulled Laf off of him. While Laf may have had the anger to do so, he'd never win in any fistfight. He wasn't heavy, so Herc was able to hold him in the air by his shoulders, not want to be too close to the hissing and clawing wildcat he'd captured.

"Laf, chill out! Guys, it's Alex! I know he looks a little...different, but he needs medical care! Angie, you can do that right?" Angelica was frozen, shaking. She didn't know what to say. Laf happily filled in for her. "Of course not, dimwit! You can't fix a zombie!"

"Angie, remember? You saved Herc!" John said, desperate for someone to agree with him. Angelica shook her head.

"John, Herc was only nicked. I managed to get the infection out of her before it spread! Alex-" she cut herself off, shaking her head, "That's not even Alex! He died, John, you have to accept that! We said our goodbyes, we grieved, it's done. This," she gestured at Alex, who stood frozen in the doorway. "This is only his body, infected with the Devil's illness, playing games with your mind! Trying to get you vulnerable just so it can devour you! Do you get that John?" Tears pricked at the young woman's eyes as she looked at Alex. She had been so close to him.

John shook his head. "No, Angelica, you're wrong. Alex, he's different!"

"You know who else we thought was different?" Laf interjected, still struggling to get out of Herc's arms. "Adrienne." His voice broke, and tears stung at his eyes, but he refused to break down. Not when he had been this strong. "We let her in, she stayed a whole day! She acted just like she always had before she died! We thought we had her! But the result of my blindness?" He pointed at Alex, tears now pouring down his cheeks. "Adrienne got him! She meant to get me, to drag her down into whatever grave she lives in! But she got him instead! I'll never, ever, forgive myself for what I did, John! I don't want you to live what I'm living!" he cried, his whole body shaking. "I don't want us to lose someone else! We lost two of the sisters, we lost George, we lost Alex! I lost my flower, the love of my life!"

Laf crumbled to the floor, violent sobs racking his whole body. "We can't afford another loss," he mumbled, his voice hoarse from shouting.

Alex stood still, and without another word, stepped out of the doorway. Angie, Maria and Herc were quickly at Laf's sides, trying to soothe him. Maria wrapped her arms around him.

"You're doing so well, it's okay. In for 5, out for 7. You've been so strong, it's okay, don't keep that negativity inside." Maria had always been by Laf's side in these hard times, especially since Adrienne's passing. His heavy breathing rattled his small frame, John knew he probably should have stayed, but he couldn't see him like this. He decided to go after Alex.

~♥~

Alex had migrated a bit farther, but eventually, John found him. He stood against a tree, unmoving. He wasn't crying, but when John saw him, he could tell instantly he was hurting inside. Physically and emotionally. 

Alex looked up at him and nearly fell over himself. "No, no don't come any closer!"

John ignored him, of course.

"No, John, Lafayette's right! I am a monster, I can't control these impulses! I'll hurt you. I'll hurt them! Go back, live your life while you can. It's too...it's too late for me, John, but you still have a chance!" he stammered. "Run before it's too late."

John wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. "If we go down, we'll go down together. Alex, I can't leave you like this. I love you, even if you're sick. We'll figure this out," he whispered, grabbing his lover's hand. "Together. Even if it means a little bit of blood now and then." He brushed his hair out of his face. "Okay?" Alex nodded.

"Okay."

~♥~

"Angie, it's been three days," Maria mumbled, biting her nails. Her curls bounced as she paced. "Do you think John's coming back?"

"I don't know, Maria. I don't know."

"I do," Herc stated, coming in through the door. The two women turned to him expectantly. "It's Alex and John; they're closeby. Alex is still very much a zombie."

Maria looked uneasy. "Can we not use the 'Z' word about Alex? It feels so...I don't know. It doesn't seem right." Angelica nodded, standing up.

"I agree. And Herc; while having John out of danger is important, he will never forgive us."

"He's going to have to live with it." Lafayette entered the room. He'd been resting in his cot, his eyes looking worn. "We love Alex. With all of our hearts. He was one of my very best friends. Right now, though, his dead body is a danger to John, who is alive and healthy. John is trying to find something to hold on to. He never really grieved for Alex's loss, he just dealt with it. You guys saw him, he was about as emotional as stone. He couldn't accept the loss, and this is him finding a piece of something he loved, and trying to put back the pieces of what he lost. Yes, John is hurting. But if we let this go, John will die. We can't let that happen to him. He'll move past this given time, but death remains as death for centuries upon centuries. We need to kill this shadow of Alex before it takes John to his grave."

The other three were silent but nodded solemnly. The solution seemed so wrong, but they knew what had to be done. John would listen to a ghost of Alex even if it led him off of a cliff.

"May Alex finally rest in peace," Angelica muttered, hoisting her jacket onto her shoulders.

~♥~

"So John, how do you expect us to coexist?" Alex asked. The two were walking alongside a stream. John had a feeling it was close to camp, but he decided not to worry Alex.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"Well, I'm a zombie. You're a human. I haven't eaten in three days, you're easy prey. How do you expect this to end well?"

"We'll figure something out," John muttered, kicking a rock on the ground.

"Well, I have a solution." Alex stopped walking. "Let me taste you."

John whipped his head around. "What?!"

"Just a bite! That's all it takes," he mused. "Then we can live side by side, no one will be in danger."

"You're trying to tell me I should let you turn me into a zombie?" John couldn't quite wrap his head around the proposal.

Alex put a decaying finger to his cheek. "Yes?" His answer came out sounding more like a question than anything.

"You were just saying roughly an hour ago you'd never want me to be a zombie." John folded his arms in front of his chest cautiously.

Alex huffed, clearly exasperated. "Roughly an hour ago, I didn't think of the positives! Seriously, if you and I were both infected, we wouldn't have to worry about each other."

John had a feeling this would happen, but he hadn't known it would be this soon. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb. "Alex, this is the sickness talking, not you."

Alexander put his hands on his lover's cheeks, smiling coyly. "My dearest Laurens, it's always been the sickness talking. Don't you know that by now?"

"I don't think it's a good idea."

Alex snuggled against his lover's shoulder. "Just one bite," he teased in a singsongy voice, snapping his teeth lightly. John could feel his breath against his neck, and he shivered. A normal human's breath would be warm.

Alex's was ice cold.

"Alex, you're dead!" John said, as though coming to terms with this for the first time. Alex laughed.

"Are we just going around stating the obvious? Because I will gladly continue the list. Your freckles are adorable, that's a river right there, aaaaaand you would make an awesome snack right about now." John couldn't believe what he was hearing. Here was Alex, cracking cocky jokes as usual as though he wasn't quite literally a dead man walking.

John shuddered at Alex's chilling touch on his shoulder. "Alex, I love you-"

"Great!" the other blurted, interrupting him. "In that case..." John could feel Alex's teeth graze his collarbone. He panicked, and lifted his lover's mouth away from his flesh and did the one thing that could always shut Alexander up.

His brain screamed danger at him, but John ignored it as he kissed him softly on the lips. No matter how long they had been together, he'd always be rendered speechless, very unlike him by nature. John had always found it cute. Now, he was hoping it could save his life.Alex's breath hitched, and John pulled away.

Tch! A clicking sound rang from somewhere in the distance, followed by a sudden blast.John jumped at the sound. "What was tha-" John began before he felt Alex's body convulse. He cried out, back arching as his hands flew to his abdomen. Blood was gushing from his side, but the rest of his wounds were disappearing. Colour returned to his cheeks, he regained his youthful glow. The rips and tears in his skin vanished like magic, and both of his eyes lit up like they used to. John saw before him the man who had died, the man he loved. He was overcome with happiness until he realized the wound in his side wasn't going away. He just kept bleeding.

John looked to the side where he saw Lafayette, Hercules, Angelica and Maria. Laf stared back at him, defeatedly letting his rifle clatter to the earth below. John didn't have time to be furious, he didn't have time to do anything but panic. Maria was the first to notice.

"Oh, my God." She started running. Faster than John had ever seen her. It didn't take long for the others to notice, too.

Alex was human again.

Within seconds, the four were by his side. John removed his shirt and held the cloth to his lover's wound in an effort to stop the bleeding. Herc got up and started to pace, trying not to lose it then and there. He had lost Alex once, but twice? It was almost too much for even him to handle. Maria tried to calm Laf down as he frantically and tearfully tried apologizing, choking through sobs. Alex, though bleeding out, placed a shaky hand on his friend's knee.

"Laf, it's okay...I understand. I'm....glad you did...what you had to do to protect John. If...if I'd been a zombie a second longer...I would have taken him with me." Alex took his friend's hand and squeezed it as the Frenchman wept into Maria's shoulder.

"This is all my fault," he whispered, choked sobs escaping him. "I killed you once, Alex, how was I blind enough to do it again?"

Angelica stood. "He's not dead yet. He won't be, not on my watch. I'm going to get some supplies," she resolved, turning to leave.

"Stay?" Alex asked. He sounded weak. "Time...there's not enough time. By the time you got back here, I'll have bled out. I don't have much...time-agh!" he yelped, pain sweeping through his body like a wave. He had died before, but this was a whole new type of pain. It was swift last time. Now he got to lie and wait, feel as the blood drained from him, just waiting for it all to be over.

John could hardly breathe. Just as he had gotten Alex back, he was losing him.

"Alex," he whispered. Tears kept coming. Alex took his hand. When he spoke, it was shuddering and slurred. He was fading fast.

"John, I-I...I l-agh! I lov-ve you, s-so, so, so mmmuch. D-don't for..." He inhaled shakily, trying to catch his breath. "Don't forget that. I-I'll be w-with you....even though I'm n-not here." Alex was losing time. He was in so much pain, but he had so much left to say! So much he hadn't yet done! He felt tears sting at his eyes, and he wanted to just close his eyes and go. As if he could read his mind, John kissed him on the forehead.

"I know it hurts, love. It's okay to let go." John could see Alex was holding onto what little was left, and he saw in his eyes that he wanted to let go.

"I-I love all of you so mu-much." He felt his breathing get shallower and shallower. "P-please, don't let the world forget all about me."

Alex finally closed his eyes and squeezed the hands he held tight. "Good luck," he whispered faintly. One last, tiny breath and Alexander's grip on Laf and John's hand loosened.

And the world wouldn't forget about him, and neither would his friends. Sometimes, Angelica thought she heard his voice. Hercules always spoke highly of Alexander, talking of his friend's bravery to anyone who would listen. Maria wrote songs about him and sang it for everyone who could hear. Lafayette never quite recovered like the other three. Constant and vivid nightmares plagued his sleep. He had panic attacks more than he used to. Maria helped him, taught him how to let things out, rather than keeping his emotions in like he had with Adrienne. He blamed himself until the day he died, never at peace until his last moments of life.

John, with time, managed to pick himself up. He visited where they had buried Alex every day, watering the flowers near it. He lived with some of his very last words; "I'll be with you, even though I'm not here." He would talk to Alex, tell him about his day and how he missed him. He never felt alone. He knew Alex was with him, but he didn't pretend he was always fine. He grieved, as people do. Occasionally a memory of his love would hit him and tears were shed. And he knew Alex would understand.

"Someday we'll meet again, right Alexander?"


End file.
